Advance copies of this statement are made available to the
press under lock-up conditions with the explicit
understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m.
Eastern Daylight Time.
Statement of
Kathleen P. Utgoff
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, August 1, 2003
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down in
July. Job losses persisted in manufacturing and a number of
other industries. These declines were partly offset by
employment gains in temporary help and other service-
providing industries. Since January, payroll employment has
decreased by 486,000. Over the month, the unemployment rate
edged down to 6.2 percent.
Manufacturing employment decreased by 71,000 in July,
with job losses continuing to be widespread throughout the
industry. The largest decline occurred in transportation
equipment, where more auto workers than usual were off
payrolls because of seasonal retooling. Other manufacturing
industries with large over-the-month employment losses
included computer and electronic products, fabricated
metals, apparel, and textile mills. In addition to shedding
jobs, many manufacturing industries cut hours in July. The
overall factory workweek decreased by 0.2 hour to 40.1
hours.
Several other industries experienced employment
declines over the month. Air transportation lost another
9,000 jobs, bringing the total reduction since its recent
peak in March 2001 to 136,000. Wholesale trade employment
continued to trend down in July. The industry has lost
415,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of its total, since March
2000. Within retail trade, employment continued to decline
in food stores, which have lost 209,000 jobs since April
2000.
In July, employment increased in the temporary help
industry for the third straight month. This industry, which
provides workers to businesses on an as-needed basis, has
added 122,000 jobs since April. In recent months,
employment also has increased in services to buildings and
dwellings. Since March, the industry has added 36,000 jobs.
Accommodations employment rose for the second straight
month. The number of jobs in finance continued to trend up,
although at a slower pace. For the past 2 months, job gains
in the industry averaged about 7,000 per month, compared
with 16,000 per month from August 2002 to May 2003.
The unemployment rate, as measured by our household
survey, edged down in July to 6.2 percent. The jobless rates
for adult men, teenagers, and blacks eased back from levels
reached in June.
Over the month, the labor force decreased by 556,000,
offsetting a gain of similar magnitude in June. July's drop
in the labor force reflects marginal declines in both
employment and unemployment. The labor force participation
rate declined to 66.2 percent, the same as in March.
In summary, the labor market remained weak in July.
Manufacturing and several other industries continued to lose
jobs, while employment rose again in temporary help. The
unemployment rate edged down to 6.2 percent.